About FF New York

EMOTIONAL THINKERSWe are emotional thinkers and believe in connecting with emotions at the deepest level. In a world more and more ruled by the logic of algorithms and robots, the intelligence of the heart becomes more rare (and even more important). We believe humans are a magical accumulation of energy and when the mind and emotions are aligned in harmony, the heart brings us to our center and helps us create.

CREATIVE LEADERSOur two founders and CEO (Fred & Farid) are multi-awarded creatives who have worked around the world And all our community leaders are creative minds. Creativity is in our core DNA, it is our essence, and our reason to be.

FROM EAST TO WESTWe have built our network from East to West (from China to America), and not the other way around like most agencies.

100% ORGANICWe are 100% organic. This means no acquisitions to artificially boost our network, no cattle call/headhunter casting sessions. Every community was built organically and deliberately. Our founders have opened each office themselves, moving their whole family life each time, to make sure to implement our culture.

BLENDEDWe are a unique combination of Chinese opportunism and fast digital thinking + American obsession for strategy and organization + French sense of craft and culture.

BOUTIQUE NETWORKWe are small and we want to stay that way. We are proud to be a creative boutique network. To us, it means human scale, creative control, sense of craft and passion for client service. We grow by opening new communities, and we keep each one at a human scale to preserve our culture.

DIVERSEDiversity is not just a trendy word to look proper or politically correct. It’s real and since the beginning. It’s in our company DNA (Fred & Farid), it has always been a priority in our recruiting, and in our lives.

HUMANWe believe in human power, human creativity, human positivity, human energy, human emotions, human intuitions, human genius. We are a human company. We believe in building real places with real people. We think that when you bring exciting people in one place without walls or boundaries, the most beautiful things can happen.

BIGWe think big. We believe it’s better to do one big thing than a hundred small things. In such a crowded industry. Your idea will never be big enough to stand out. We work hard on being ambitious at every stage (brief comprehension, data analysis, business intelligence orientation, strategy, ideation, production, launch).

RADICALLY HONESTWe are radically honest. We believe that the best way to help our clients and to nurture our relationship is to honestly (but respectfully) share what we believe to be the right thing to do for the brand.

AESTHETESWe have a genuine passion for the craft. We are aesthetes. We revere taste and culture. We believe in the power of beauty. We apply luxury standards on every piece of communication.

ITERATIVEWe believe in quantity. It’s never the first idea. Re-thinking and “de-thinking” are critical elements of excellence. No-sweat, no glory. We value the sense of effort. Creativity is a muscle, requiring intense daily training.

BUSINESS MINDEDWe believe in business intelligence ideas that create growth. A good strategy with the right creative is not enough. We know that these take all forms, sometimes not communication or marketing. Sometimes it is a product. Sometimes it is in inventing a new form.

MEANINGFULWe try to do meaningful communication when the brief allows. In a world of fear, fast culture, ultra consumption, we believe people are craving for meaning. A campaign touches people’s hearts when we dare to approach a broader topic behind the ad. This approach helps us strike, but also brings meaning to our job.

NAIVEWe are not cynical. Unlike many networks in our industry, we believe in the power of naivete. When hiring, we look for people who are alive, open, real, curious, joyful, smiley, cheeky, amusing, fast, spontaneous, energetic, enthusiastic, passionate, brilliant, independent, intuitive, courageous, fearless, resilient, vulnerable, honest, conscious, sensitive, tasteful, spiritual.

UNITEDWe are one. We are located in four cities, but we are one company. We have a truly international culture. We are mobile; we are curious travelers and highly connected. Our clients benefit from dream teams composed of our best talents worldwide, and our teams get to pick from a range of excellent opportunities from around the world. We highly support internal people turnover within our network.

COMMUNITIESWe don’t believe in the usual hub+satellites structure. Most of the networks have one performing office and weak satellites. We work hard to make each one of our communities performant creatively and in business. Each one of them has the same influential power within our organization.

RADICAL LISTENERSWe are radical listeners. We don’t apply any method or formula on brands. We don’t have any agency style. Self-consciousness is bad for creativity. We have no philosophy, no color (black and white), no sign or animal, no cool font (but Arial, the default font on any computer). We adapt each time to each genre, tailor-made. We are media agnostic, driven only by the idea and the brand. We are chameleon. We are liquid.

TRANSFORMATIVEWe are a transformative company. Everyone who worked at FF can testify that joining our creative community is a transformative experience. Spending a few years with us will make you more creative, more independent, more confident, more ambitious. It will change your career, and perhaps your life.

TACTICSAs a company, we don’t have any war strategy or world-domination masterplan. We are human and emotional. We listen to our instincts and intuitions. But we are good listeners. We seize observed opportunities and adapt very quickly.

GOODWe try to be good people. We do our best to emotionally engage with our employees, and help them grow within our organization. We spend time to understand the nuances of personalities and help hone the skills to make them blossom. It’s selfish in a way; we love to be surrounded by happy and fulfilled people.

PROCESSESWe believe processes help in building culture, even creative culture. On mondays we do creative reviews and business reviews all day with our 4 communities (LA, NY, Paris, Shanghai). On wednesdays, each community organizes a creative breakfast to share our work and creative culture based on our website. On fridays each community organizes a gathering with creative minds from other industries over drinks.

IMPERFECTIONWe don’t believe in perfection in this fast paced changing world. We aim for perfection, but in a realistic, pragmatic way. In a way we apply the digital thinking in real life. Each time we take a decision, we just launch it as soon as possible, to observe the reactions in the real world. Then we adapt, pivot… and edit with humility and speed. Everything at ff is in movement, everything is a work-in-progress, including this chapter about imperfection.

www.ffcreative.com

Latest News

Stoli® Vodka Says It “Loud and Clear” with New Global Advertising Campaign

Stoli® Vodka, the original premium vodka with uncompromising quality for the past 80 years, announced today the launch of their new global advertising campaign, “Loud and Clear.” The provocative new campaign features work from award-winning artists like composer Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe and director Rachel Morrison. The campaign takes a 360-approach, incorporating television, digital, social and print to reveal Stoli’s unapologetic message – whatever drives you, make it bold, make it last, make it loud and clear.

The release of the “Loud and Clear” campaign demonstrates Stoli’s unwavering presence in the spirits industry, while differentiating itself as the real deal in today’s vodka sea of sameness. Shot in Ukraine, each creative spot showcases real people celebrating their unique identities and what drives them. The footage makes it “Loud and Clear” that they are fully embracing their style, passions and beliefs with conviction.

“Our new advertising campaign truly captures the boldness and clarity of Stoli®,” said Hugues Pietrini, Global CEO of The Stoli® Group. “With an 80-year history in the spirits category, we are proud of our brand identity and values and want our fans to feel the same. We encourage them to ‘make it loud and clear’ that they are embracing and broadcasting their true selves without inhibition.”

Developed with FF New York, the global creative agency founded by Fred & Farid, “Loud and Clear” boasts an impressive lineup of award-winning creative talent who contributed to the campaign. “Loud and Clear” features music from the Oscar-winning composer, Hans Zimmer and Emmy/BAFTA-nominated composer Lorne Balfe, which elevates the drama and emotion in the piece.

Oscar Nominee Rachel Morrison served as the campaign’s director of photography on the video, which was shot by directors “We are From LA”. The print creative was shot by esteemed photographer Rankin in London and features the designs of graphic artist Tyrsa, who created a brand-new font, Stoli Brush, for all of the print ads. The font will be made accessible for Stoli® fans and consumers alike to download and use for free.

“A new campaign for Stoli needed both a bold new positioning from the brand and the right creative community to bring it to life,” said Fred & Farid, founders of FF. “As such, we worked with distinctive, visionary artists who are uncompromising in their values. The work of Mr. Zimmer and Ms. Morrison were an incredible fit for the spirit of the brand.”